It was a case of sink or swim when Ruth Weston suddenly found herself in charge of a business last year.

The Allerton mum only intended to organise the hiring of a birthing Pool for the delivery of her fourth child when she telephoned Alison Carr.

But, by the time she had put the receiver down, Mrs Weston found she'd agreed to buy the company.

Mrs Weston, who had no experience of running a business, said she had little choice but to buy the firm when she heard that Mrs Carr was quitting to emigrate.

And, little more than a year after she was thrown in at the deep end, she certainly has no regrets.

Since then, Aquabirths Birthing Pool Hire has doubled in size. Two new pools have been specially made by AM Mouldings in Allerton, with the total on offer soon expected to rise to 12. And the boss is loving every minute - so much so she's now planning to open a second venture providing a nappy laundering service.

Today Mrs Weston said the pool hire business - the only one of its kind in Yorkshire and the North East - was becoming increasingly popular with women who don't want to take drugs to ease the pain as they give birth.

"Last September, I had one customer and that was me," she said. "This September, we had 12 customers and there were times that I was praying that the babies would arrive early because I needed the birth pools for somebody else. We've had to re-write our business plan.

"It is such a privilege to be part of people's happiness. So many customers have said that the birthing pool turned the birth from something they dreaded into a beautiful and even pleasurable experience."

Mrs Weston has just had her son Stan baptised in one of the company's birthing pools. And she said it was a fitting way to mark the anniversary.

"It seemed the right thing to do," she said. "If it wasn't for Stan we would not have bought the company. And as the service is about dedication and thanksgiving we felt it important that we dedicated and gave thanks for the pools at the same time."

Meanwhile, the Bradford mum-turned-entrepreneur is happy with life in the business world.

"I have been taken aback by how much I've enjoyed it," she said. "Sometimes, I wish that I'd done this ten years ago. I think that I have found my niche. It is such a lovely time to be with people.

"I don't think that I am going to make my first million doing this, and we will need to get a few more pools before we make a decent amount, but that doesn't worry me at the moment. Because it has been working so well, I know that in a couple of years we'll be able to give up the day job.